Visit Matsumoto

For 10 days, from Saturday, November 14, to Monday, November 23 (a holiday)!

We’re holding the “Nagawa Native Soba Festival” in the Nagawa area!

Nagawa is home to a regional variety of buckwheat known as “Nagawa Zairai.”

Every year, we harvest our own seeds and plant them in the fields the following year—

This buckwheat has been cultivated through this time-honored tradition.

◆What is “Nagawa Native” Buckwheat?

Nagawa Native buckwheat is characterized by its small grains, rich flavor, abundant sweetness and aroma, and just the right amount of chewiness. When you take a bite, you can enjoy the authentic taste of buckwheat that spreads across your palate. Although Nagawa Native buckwheat is said to have been cultivated in Nagawa for nearly 300 years, its survival has not always been a given. After cultivation was once interrupted by typhoon damage in 1998, it was revived thanks to the efforts of the local community.

Since 2006, efforts have been underway to expand the cultivation area.Nagawa’s cool climate, mountainous terrain, and scattered fields provided an ideal environment for preventing cross-pollination with other varieties and preserving the native strain. Combined with the traditions of local residents—who collected seeds and continued sowing them year after year—and the region’s culinary culture, such as “Touji Soba,” this unique flavor has been passed down through the generations. It is a taste unique to Nagawa, preserved by both its natural environment and its people. We sincerely hope that all buckwheat enthusiasts will visit Nagawa to experience this buckwheat for themselves.

This year, we will once again hold the “Native Soba Festival” at the following five shops in the Nagawa area.

・Fukuden: 0263-79-2003 / Closed on Wednesdays

・Senraku: 0263-79-2277 / Closed Thursdays

・Soba no Sato Nagawa: 0263-79-2906 / Closed Mondays and Tuesdays

・Nagawa Sansai-kan: 0263-79-2815 / Closed Wednesdays; Closed for the winter

・Toriyasawa: 0263-79-2268 / Irregular holidays

Even though they all use the same Nagawa native buckwheat, the dipping sauce and the character of the soba vary from shop to shop.

Comparing the different flavors is part of the fun.

*During the event period, we’ll be holding a raffle with original Nagawa prizes! Please be sure to participate.

We’ll also be holding the “Nagawa Keyword Rally,” which has been running since the “Summer New Soba Festival.”